PEABODY — The Logan Express Park and Ride service is heading back to Peabody to what many hope will be a more convenient and accessible location.
The City Council voted to unanimously approve a temporary one-year special permit to allow the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) to relocate operations to the Northshore Mall at 210 Andover St. (the previous location was on the southbound side of Route 1).
Outgoing Ward 4 Councilor Ed Charest questioned Massport representatives at a recent council meeting, reading two opposition letters from his constituents expressing their worries about increased traffic on Prospect Street as well as other safety concerns. He questioned why Logan Express was not returning to its prior location on Route 1, and why it was instead moving to the mall.
Attorney David Ankeles and Massport Transportation Business Manager Christopher Grillo explained that it was a matter of accessibility. Drivers on Route 1 could only access the parking area and bus services when traveling southbound. The new location would become more available for those traveling in either direction on Route 1 and I-95.
Grillo added that there was an opportunity for greater usage of Massport’s services due to a larger population on Route 128. He also noted the benefits this would have on the mall, which would likely see more usage as a result.
“While it would be easier for us to go back to the old site, we thought the right thing to do was to make the investment in the North Shore to offer a better service to more people,” Grillo explained to the council.
Charest said he sympathized with his constituents.
“I certainly would have liked to have a neighborhood meeting before this,” Charest said. “It’s not that I am opposed to a bus terminal, I’m just concerned because I got information this late that I could not study.”
Councilor-at-Large Thomas Gould spoke up in favor of the petitioners, citing his and the City Council’s good relationship with Northshore Mall General Manager Mark Whiting. Gould said that the decision to issue the permit would not only help the mall’s businesses, but Peabody’s nearby food and service industries as well.
“To me, this is something about bringing people to the mall,” said Gould. “They pick their car up from their plane and then they go to eat at one of the many restaurants in Peabody. It’s not just helping the mall; it helps Peabody.”
Despite his initial concerns, Charest agreed to move the permit forward after the council agreed to add an amendment proposed by Charest, stating that any changes to the overhead lighting currently in place would need council approval.
The service will provide bus transportation from Peabody to Logan Airport and back. The parking lot will be located next to Rockland Trust and 282 parking spaces will be available for use. Buses will run seven days a week with one bus in use every 75 minutes. Buses start running at 3:15 a.m., with the last trip at 1:15 a.m. the following morning.
The service is due to start up sometime in 2022.
In March 2020, Massport suspended Logan Express service in Back Bay and Peabody and also reduced the transportation schedule in other locations due to lower passenger demand caused by the pandemic. The Braintree and Framingham service has run continually during the pandemic. Service in Woburn was temporarily suspended from January through May of 2021 due to low ridership, but has been open since resuming operations on June 1.
